1. Technical Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to a musical notation device which enables the visually impaired to read music.
2. Description of Related Art
Visual impaired musicians find themselves in a challenging situation when trying to master existing musical compositions. Repertoire of visually impaired musicians may be limited to works available as Braille sheet music. Braille sheet music is read tactilely by the musician's hand(s) thus it is impossible to read the Braille sheet music while playing most instruments. Instrumental performance by a visually impaired musician is performed from memory.
Thus there is a need for and it would be advantageous to have a system and method for visually impaired musicians to read musical notation by tactile sensation while playing.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a protocol, digital interface and connectors and allows a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers and other related devices to connect and communicate with one another. A single MIDI link can carry up to sixteen channels of information, each of which can be routed to a separate device. MIDI carries event messages that specify notation, pitch and velocity, control signals for parameters such as volume, vibrato, audio panning, cues, and clock signals that set and synchronize tempo between multiple devices. The messages are sent to other devices and control sound generation and other features. The message data can also be recorded into a hardware or software device called a sequencer, which can be used to edit the data and to play it back at a later time. MIDI technology was standardized in 1983 by a panel of music industry representatives, and is maintained by the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA). All official MIDI standards are jointly developed and published by the MMA in Los Angeles, Calif., USA, and for Japan, the MIDI Committee of the Association of Musical Electronics Industry (AMEI) in Tokyo.
Electrotactile or electrocutaneous systems are also known for delivering electrical current to electrodes placed on the user's skin to induce a tactile response. U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,879, Sevrain et al., dated May 22, 1990 describes an electro-tactile stimulator including a flexible substrate on one surface of which is formed an electrically conductive pattern having a number of electrodes which are placed in contact with a skin surface of a user.